Three new measures to stop kauri dieback in Northland

Kauri in Northland, and elsewhere, are dying, and human activities are not helping. Photo / supplied

The Kauri Dieback Governance Group has agreed on three measures that it believes will save the species in Northland and elsewhere.

The group has agreed to instigate a Controlled Area Notice for kauri dieback, a national pest management plan, and a Strategic Science Advisory Group.

"These new measures will give greater protection to kauri," Ministry for Primary Industries chief operations officer Roger Smith, who chairs the governance group, said.

"They are targeted at getting people to do the right thing, and will strengthen efforts to manage the spread of kauri dieback."

The first measure the programme's partner agencies agreed on was putting in place a Controlled Area Notice (CAN) for kauri dieback, under the Biosecurity Act 1993.

"The CAN cannot ban people from going into a particular area, but it would put a legal requirement on them to follow the right hygiene standards when entering or leaving areas that have kauri. We aim to make these safeguards as easy as possible to follow," Mr Smith said.

The aim was to have the CAN in place over the coming months, and that it would be rolled out in stages, enabling the initial targeting of higher priority areas first, and not exceeding the group's capacity to deliver it effectively. That would also provide opportunities to learn and refine the controls as they were rolled out to other places.

Work on preparing the CAN had begun, and programme partners were deciding the details of how it would be implemented, including deciding the first location where it would apply.

The programme partners had also agreed the CAN should ultimately be replaced by a National Pest Management Plan (NPMP).

"A national plan is used for tackling major biosecurity threats, and is the strongest form of regulation we can put in place," Mr Smith said.

"It will provide consistent regulations for dealing with kauri dieback that apply nationally, more robust programme governance, and better access to funding.

"The national plan would be a longer-term measure for managing kauri dieback, and extensive consultation will be required to develop it."

Meanwhile a Strategic Science Advisory Group would ensure that the fight against kauri dieback was supported by the necessary science and research.